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TRP: Irah and Sam (The Razor Shroud)
Day 369, Library in Skyport The library was quiet. Irah had always liked that about these places. No noise to distract from your thoughts. Until they came. By now he was rather used to it, to hear them mimic his thoughts, mock him, call out to him, tell him to do terrible things. Usually he could tell if it was them, when they guessed his mind or spoke right beside his ear even though no one was there. Sometimes they were distant, though, and he would wonder if it was just them having their conversations or someone not shutting up in his library. He'd get up from where he crouched by a shelf or sat at a desk and look for the disturbance. They loved it when they managed to trick him like that. Sometimes, though, sometimes they weren't fast enough and Irah caught glimpses of them. Or maybe they did it on purpose. Lurking in the corner of his eye, in the dark and in the reflections of the stained glass windows. It unnerved him, and they knew that, too. After all these years with their presence, he still didn't know what they were. Demons, spirits. Beings from another plane. No one really did. Irah had read so many books and talked to so many scholars without ever getting close to an answer. He only knew one thing for certain: they were pure evil. And it'd started right after... He shied away from that thought. The worst mistake he'd ever made still haunted his nightmares and filled him with dread and a terrible hopelessness. Thinking about it made no difference. Thinking about it only made their voices louder, closer, more frantic. Irah stared at the pages before him until his eyes began to burn and he had to squeeze them shut. Stupid, they whispered. Why did you do that? Shouldn't have done that. Stupid. You're stupid. It's gonna kill you. You'll die. Irah sniffled, still rubbing his closed eyes, jaw clenched, muttering under his breath. "No...no. Shut up." IZZY Hands dropped abruptly onto the table. "Hey." He was a large, rough-looking man, but he kept his voice low. Tall and scruffy. Quarterstaff and lyre. Immediately recognizable. He did not appear to recognize Irah. "You look like someone who knows where to find shit in a library," he said without any other preamble. JEN Irah jumped. He'd not heard the man approach, which unsettled him, because he was used to hearing people walk around in the library. His eyes followed the hands up over the arms to the face- and his jaw dropped. "You?" It wanted to come out as a shout but he knew how to keep quiet. IZZY The man stared at him for a moment, then slowly said, "Yes " JEN Irah scooted back his chair and stood up, fast enough to knock it over. It almost tripped him as he took another step back. "How'd you- you followed me?" IZZY The man kept staring at him, not moving, and just as slowly, said, "No." Then he straightened up and squinted. "What?" JEN Oh. The relief was almost physical. The man didn't recognize him. It might've just be a coincidence, like the old saying about always meeting people twice. Unless... unless he was lying. Hiding the fact that he'd stalked Irah. They agreed. Get away! they shouted, Idiot! Don't just fucking stand there! Burn him IZZY He kept staring. "I can ask someone else," he said after a moment. JEN "What are you doing here?" Irah brought out, becoming aware of the fact he'd been standing frozen. Didn't mean he relaxed now. IZZY "Looking for information. I heard that's what libraries are for." JEN "No, I mean- don't you-" Irah stuttered, torn between trying to figure out if this really was just coincidence or part of of scheme. Their voices, though, they were so loud. They swarmed his thoughts, leaving no space for his own. Irah squeezed his eyes shut again and pressed his hands to his ears. As if that had ever helped. IZZY "Oh. Hey." He sounded concerned now. "Hey, man. Are you all right?" JEN Irah lifted his hands off his ears and squinted at the man. "Don't you... do you know who I am?" He asked. Their voices kept rampaging. IZZY The man squinted at him again, looked him up and down. "Do I know you from ..." he started, then stopped himself, and his eyebrows went up. "Oh. You're one of those people -- I saw you at the Cradle." JEN Irah nodded. "Yeah. The- that place." IZZY "Huh." He kept looking at Irah intently. "So, did they let you go, or did you bust out?" JEN "We, uh. We just kinda... left." Irah sniffled again, then looked down on the chair to his feet. He bent and picked it up, hoping the crash hadn't disturbed anyone. IZZY "Hm." He seemed satisfied by that, nodding a bit. "Good for you. That's what I did. Anyway. Oh." He held out his hand, like he was just remembering. "Hey. I'm Sam." JEN Irah glanced at the hand for a second, then decided it'd be alright and took it. "Irah." IZZY Sam's hands were heavily callused. "So, you look like a fucking nerd," he said, kindly. JEN "Huh?" Irah didn't know whether to be insulted or not. He opted for a confused head-tilt. emotionbotLast Wednesday at 11:30 AM "No offense. I need a fucking nerd to help me track down some information. I can pay you," he offered, almost as an afterthought. JEN "Oh, uh. Oh. No. You don't need to pay me, I mean. That's what I'm here for." Irah gave a shy smile and gestured at the room. "To help people research." IZZY "Great," Sam said shortly. "So. I heard about this magic thing. It's called the Razor Shroud. It's supposed help with ..." He gestured vaguely. "Traveling between planes. Is that enough to get you started?" JEN Irah narrowed his eyes at that. Yes, he'd heard of it. A dangerous thing to play around with. Sam seemed a dangerous person, too. Irah teetered for a moment, but ultimately, the books he needed were here for public reading. Sam would be able to find the information with or without Irah's help. And it was his job after all... Irah put a nail to his mouth and bit it, then turned appruptly. "I think I know what you're talking about. There's a pretty detailed description in the, ah... " He turned town an aisle, stopped, then turned back, wound around Sam and led the way down the corridor. "Compendium of Elder Artifacts. Written by Thamasia Grey. Some... two-hundred and thirty years ago, I believe, and yet its still considered one of the most in-depth descriptions of artifacts that predate the Calamity. Very interesting book." IZZY "That's some nerd shit," Sam said, approvingly. JEN "I mean.. if you say so." Irah didn't really know what Sam meant by that, but his tone didn't sound too unfriendly so he let it go. He kept his excitement about this particular book to himself while he lead them along the rows of books. They passed under a wooden archway and that was where Irah turned down a side branch again. This time, he was in the right section. He found the book quickly, as it was pretty easy to spot. They'd only recently transcribed their invaluable original, which of course wasn't available for the public, and the bright red linen of the new book cover stood out starkly against the more subdued colors of the older books. Irah pulled it from the shelf and led Sam to a desk where he placed the book with the table of contents open. IZZY Sam trailed along behind him, looking out of place but glancing around with interest, hands in his pockets. He stood next to Irah and eyed the table of contents. "I'm trying to find out where the Shroud is," he said. "You know, if someone has it, or if it's lost and I'll have to find it myself in a cave under a skeleton or some bullshit. That kind of thing." JEN "Oh, Huh." Irah looked up from the book, considering. "You want to travel between the planes?" IZZY "Ehh." Sam pulled a hand out of his pocket to make a wavey gesture. JEN Irah did not like the sound of that. Not one bit. He pressed his lips together and looked down at the book again, hiding his face behind his stringy hair. Slowly, he started to leaf through the pages. "Well. I mean... this book provides a description of the Shroud. It's known history, too. Not much on where it might be, though.... that is, uh. Speculation. A lot of it." IZZY "Great." He snapped his fingers and pointed at Irah, then winced at the way the sound echoed. He lowered his voice more to make up for it. "Speculation is fine for me." He moved to nudge Irah aside so that he could sit and read. JEN Irah hovered by the table, feeling himself get jittery, and the agitated murmuring of their voices did not help his nerves. Something was terribly wrong here, he could tell. This man, this Sam. Who showed up out of nowhere to kill the demon Sloth. And now he was looking to traverse the planes... maybe it was alright. Maybe he wanted to kill more demons. Or maybe it wasn't. Burn him. Burn him to ashes. Be on the safe side. He's going to get you... "Ahh..." he made, fighting to gather his thoughts. "I was wondering why you... ah. Why you were there. In the- the Cradle." IZZY "Oh, I was just there to kill that fucking Sloth thing," he said easily. JEN "Uh-huh. Yeah, that was... helpful. Uhm." Irah coughed. "Why, though? Are you a... demon hunter or something like that?" IZZY He made another shaky hand gesture and offered another ehh. JEN You fucking idiot, a voice whispered right by his ear, making Irah twitch. Lying. He's lying. He glanced aside and for a fraction of a second, he could swear there'd been something standing behind that bookshelf. They were close, drawn in by his distress. They lived off it. Irah did not know why they sometimes seemed to care about his safety, but he suspected it was because tormenting him wasn't their ultimate goal. They wanted him for something else he had not figured out yet. Right now, they were insisting he had to get rid of Sam. Irah was inclined to believe them. IZZY Sam hummed to himself quietly as he flicked through the book, oblivious. JEN "Hey, do you- are you good for a moment? I'll be right back." Irah just had a terrible thought and he needed to check. Dread crept up his spine like a cold, dead hand. IZZY Sam glanced up. "What? Yeah, no problem." JEN Irah left at a calm, measured pace. Only after rounding the corner did he start running, for a few yards, until he realized he was making way too much noise. He knew exactly where he needed to go. The book sat in its undeserved place in a shelf on the second floor gallery, between accounts of alleged ghost sightings and early, unscientific attempts to explain the werewolf syndrome. Many scholars in the field scoffed at the author but Irah knew better. He'd experienced first hand what it was like to have hidden knowledge and not be believed. He had researched the author and seen all the tell-tale signs. Irah reached the shelf, panting a bit from the climb, and went down the row hand poised to pluck the book from its spot. His breath caught when his fingers reached the gap. No. Oh no, no, no. He knew it was supposed to be there, this library was well-organized, they always made sure their books were in the right place, but he still started searching the books left and right, maybe someone had it misplaced after all. All the while their voices mocked him, told him it was useless, and how he was dumb because of course this man would've made sure Irah would have no way to confirm his suspicion before coming here and asking for his help. Stupid Irah. Letting himself be tricked like that. He should- Think. He should think. Irah opened his hand which had clenched around the edge of a shelf. Maybe it was fine. There were still options. He took a few deep breaths. His head was spinning, his vision dark and blurred at the edges. They were lurking somewhere in there... hiding but watching. Watching what he'd do. --- Sam hadn't moved from the desk. Irah crept up on him as if he were a dangerous animal, then told himself to cut it out. Act normal. Not like a lunatic. "So, uh." He coughed. "Did that answer your questions?" IZZY Sam's face was propped in one hand, and he was flipping listlessly with the other. "Eh," he said. "Eh. Kind of. I need more information." He traced a finger down the page and sighed. "It talks about the mountains. To the north. I think I just need to go there myself. Look around some more." He looked up. "Unless you have any other ideas." JEN "No. I mean... " Irah moved to stand beside the desk and glanced at the page Sam was reading. "If you could give me more to work with, maybe I could... you know, approximate the issue." IZZY Sam blinked at him. "You could what, now." JEN "Approximate," Irah said before realising that was probably the problematic part. "Uh. Try to get to an answer by researching clues that are, uhm. Indirectly related to the Shroud." IZZY "Uh-huh," Sam said. "Uh-huh. Hey. I have an idea." He pushed himself up. "Do you like traveling, Irah?" JEN Irah took a step back. "No, I... don't. I really don't." IZZY "Ah. Well. Hm." He scratched at his beard thoughtfully. "I guess I'll find someone else up north to help me out once I'm there. Hey. Thanks, though." He tapped the book. "This was good shit." JEN "Sure... uhm. Feel free to- come back again. If you want to know more." IZZY "Oh, yeah, I mean. I won't be around." He waved vaguely, and moved like he was about to pat Irah on the shoulder, but stopped and just said, "Take care of yourself, man," before heading into the labyrinthine stacks. JEN Irah watched him go, expecting relief but instead feeling like he'd swallowed lead. The killing of the demon Sloth... and Sam's odd reaction when Irah had asked for the reason. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe Irah was making connections where there were none but- there was just that feeling. Something was off. Sam was hiding something and why would he, if it was innocuous? Irah couldn't take the risk. He had to make sure. For all he knew, he was the only one who suspected... and with that, the only one who could prevent something potentially catastrophic. People had called Brother Ludovici crazy for suggesting the demon Pride- an aspect of corruption, as Irah's teachers had called it- was going after his own siblings. But Irah had read about the evidence and about the nature of this demon. It made perfect sense. This being seemed to be amassing power, and if it also had a servant looking for a way to cross between the planes... the worst had to be assumed. Irah stopped chewing his nails and made a decision. It made him feel queasy to even think about but how could he just turn a blind eye? He couldn't. He started down the row Sam had just disappeared into, stopped, then continued. The book could wait. This was more important. IZZY Sam hadn't gotten far. He clearly wasn't in any rush, just strolling along with his hands in his pockets, humming quietly. JEN Irah wanted to call out but they were still in the library, so he had to wait until he was close enough to quietly say, "Sam. Wait." IZZY Sam looked back curiously and paused. JEN "I, uh. I reconsidered." Irah twined his fingers together, then made himself stop. "I think I can help you." IZZY He blinked. "That was, uh. Fast reconsideration." JEN Irah shrugged and tried for a smile. "I... brushed you off fast, too." IZZY He scratched at his beard thoughtfully, appraising Irah. "Yeah, that's true. I mean. I won't turn you down. I'm planning to head out to Gentleglen and get a teleportation circle from the Silvanus Sanctuary there up to Iceport. Do you need time to ... get ready, or whatever? I can wait until tomorrow." JEN "Tomorrow... would be good, yeah." Irah nodded. He would have to tell the library director he was going... well, maybe he could pass it off as research. "I'll be here at dawn." IZZY "Sure thing." Sam nodded. He was quiet for a second. "Thanks for the help. See you then." He headed off again. END Category:Text Roleplay